Antoon van Dyck ( 1599-1641), Portrait of the Sculptor ( most probably François Duquesnoy (1597 – 1643), 1627-29, Oil on canvas, 77,5 x 61 cm, Musées Royaux des Beaux-Arts, Brussels
This portrait of François Duquesnoy by Anthony van Dyck is surrounded by mystery and historical ambiguity. The portrait traditionally identified as François Duquesnoy, painted around 1627-29, is believed to have been a pendant piece to one of his brother Jérôme Duquesnoy’s portraits. However, only engravings and later copies of Jérôme’s portrait exist. François was a renowned sculptor in Rome, described in early biographies as blond with blue eyes, which contradicts the dark-haired sitter in this Van Dyck’s painting.
Art historians continue to debate whether Van Dyck painted the Duquesnoy brothers from life or relied on existing portraits and descriptions. Given the stylistic analysis, it is now believed that van Dyck painted these works during his second Flemish period, after his Italian trip, suggesting he might not have met François Duquesnoy in person in Rome.